Suspicious Activity
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: The Doctor hears Rose giggling in her room late at night, and decides to find out what's causing it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Suspicious Activity**_

The Doctor was beneath the console, quite happily tinkering whilst his human friends slept half their lives away in the bedrooms down the corridor. It was half past one in the morning, and he didn't expect to hear from them until around eight o'clock. Well, in Rose's case, perhaps a quarter past nine. She wasn't exactly a morning person. It wasn't so bad, now that Jack was travelling with them; before, he'd been grumpy about her taking so long to get up in the mornings, but at least Jack could keep him company nowadays. He'd got quite used to Jack's presence, actually, and was glad that Rose had persuaded him to let the other man come aboard. Underneath the ex-conman's bravado was a good heart, really. And Rose's influence certainly helped. The Doctor could tell that he and Jack had that in common, at least; subtly basking in the youthful joy and light that was Rose Tyler was doing each of their darkened souls a world of good. And Jack had proved to be both excellent in a crisis and at grasping the TARDIS' technology.

So it was with a contented sort of musing over his good fortune in terms of the friends he had acquired in these past few months that the Doctor lay fixing one of the components of the TARDIS' gravitation thrusters.

This good mood and the favourable thoughts about Jack and Rose deteriorated rather rapidly when he began to hear something very suspicious.

Giggling.

He wasn't averse to hearing Rose giggle – rather the opposite, in fact – but the Doctor couldn't help but think that something was amiss. Firstly, she was usually asleep at this time of night. Secondly, it was not only her giggling, but also Jack. And thirdly, he'd thought he had made it plenty clear to Jack Harkness that any sort of nefarious plot to visit Rose in the night would be met with expulsion from this ship.

The giggling was getting louder, but he could tell that it was coming from Rose's bedroom. Jack was simply making her _squeal_ with laughter. Which would not do. It would not do at _all._

Growling, the Doctor scrambled out from under the console. He straightened, wiped the grease off of his hands with a piece of cloth, and made his way down the corridor.

As he got nearer to Rose's bedroom, he could hear that not only was Rose squealing in delight over something, but she was also squealing words. He listened carefully, and then recoiled in surprise, inexplicably hurt and really rather jealous, when he distinctly heard Rose shout,

"Jack! Oh my god!"

He hands clenched into fists. Surely they wouldn't – _couldn't – _

"Yes, that's the one, that's the one!" she called out next, followed by more laughter.

If they were laughing, he tried to rationalise to himself, they certainly couldn't be doing what he thought they might be doing. He'd gathered the impression that Jack was quite the lothario, and he didn't reckon a guy like that would seek to make a woman _laugh _in bed. Who laughed whilst having sex, anyway? Mind you, the Doctor considered, it wasn't like he was an expert himself. In fact, it had been roughly a century since he'd last partaken in such an activity, and it _really _hadn't gone very well that time. He winced. He didn't actually remember the event all that clearly, only the embarrassment that it had generated before, during and after. As old and as superior he was in the universe, he wasn't exactly, er, refined in_ that_ area.

Sniffing purposefully, and trying to pretend that he wasn't feeling very deficient at that moment, he stepped forwards and grasped the handle of her door. Then he hesitated.

"That's it – no, the other way!" Rose exclaimed, then laughed again.

Maybe it was some special Harkness trick, the Doctor thought irritably. Well, whatever they were doing, he'd put a stop to it. He couldn't exactly concentrate with all this racket going on. Besides. Jack wasn't supposed to be – to be – to be _corrupting _his best friend. He shook his head at that thought, correcting himself, because it wasn't that he thought of copulation in any way abhorrent, it was just, Jack shouldn't – Rose wasn't – it wasn't _fair, _that Jack could monopolise her attention like that. The Doctor was her mysterious time travelling friend first, not Jack, a paltry Time Agent who pretended to be a Captain.

"Jack, this is wearing me out. We're gonna have to finish this tomorrow - "

He swallowed hard and opened the door without another moment's hesitation. "You will _not," _he corrected, storming into the room. Then he blinked. Once. Twice. He sagged against a wall in relief. "Oh thank Rassilon…" he muttered under his breath.

Rose and Jack stared at him in confusion, standing over the other side of the bedroom amongst a sea of clothes from the wardrobe room. They were evidently amusing themselves with a bit of dressing up in bizarre and wondrous clothing. "What's the matter, Doctor?" Rose asked cautiously.

"Nothing," he assured her, starting to smile at his own ridiculousness. "It's nothing. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" asked Jack, frowning in thought.

"I'm sure," the Doctor nodded. "So! You ransacked the wardrobe room, did you?"

Rose, apparently satisfied for now that there was nothing drastically wrong with him, answered cheerfully, "Yeah, well, you said the other day that we'd be going to a ball at some point this week, so Jack and me were taking a look through the wardrobe when _suddenly, _we came across all this weird and wonderful stuff." She flashed him a tongue-twixt-teeth smile. "Jack's been giving me a fashion show!"

The Doctor smiled absently and said, "Well, you certainly seemed to be having fun."

"Rose appreciates my modelling skills," agreed Jack with a grin.

"Mmm," the Doctor responded. "Well, then. I'll leave you to it. Mind you, it's getting a bit late. Big day ahead tomorrow. Got lots of adventuring planned. Maybe it's time for bed, now?"

"Yeah, I was just saying to Jack that I'm feeling tired."

Jack nodded, and removed the hat and feather boa he was wearing, dumping them onto the pile of clothes. "Yeah, okay. Goodnight, Rose. Sweet dreams," he winked at her, then started to leave the room. He stopped in the corridor, though, and looked at the Doctor strangely. The Time Lord was still standing in Rose's bedroom, showing no indication of leaving. "Doctor?"

"Yes, Jack?" he replied distractedly. Rose was staring at him for some reason, and he couldn't quite bring himself to look away first.

"You staying with Rose tonight?" he joked cheekily.

"Just going to talk to her about something," he murmured. "Go to bed, Jack."

Jack raised his eyebrows, shrugged, then shoved his hands in his pockets, before waltzing down the corridor whistling to himself.

"Why did you burst in, earlier?" Rose whispered suddenly.

The Doctor straightened his posture and assumed the defensive mode of attack. "Why? Was it a private party?"

"No, course not," she said hurriedly. "I was just wondering, that's all."

"My ship," he countered, folding his arms.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"And you were making a lot of noise. I couldn't concentrate."

"Sorry," she replied, but she didn't sound sincere in her apology.

She probably thought he was being a grumpy old bore, complaining about a bit of laughter. "You don't need to apologise," he clarified quickly, even though it was quite clear that she hadn't been, not properly, "I just meant that all the giggling intrigued me, and I wanted to know what was going on."

"Nosy," she said, but her lips had quirked up in a smile.

He shrugged.

"Did you feel like you were missing out?" Rose asked curiously, with just a hint of tease.

The Doctor fought against the blush rising in his cheeks. "No," he said, in a low, authoritative voice.

She bit her lip to stifle a giggle, and walked over to him. "I think you did."

He sighed, trying to cover his embarrassment with the pretence of boredom. Once she'd reached the area that could be labelled as his _personal space_, he doubled his efforts. "Really, Rose," he snorted derisively. "Why would I be jealous of anything the two of you get up to?"

Her eyes widened.

He suspected that he shouldn't have said anything about jealousy. Bugger.

"What exactly did you think was going on in here?" she remarked.

"Nothing."

"Rubbish."

"Well, I didn't know. That's why I was coming to see."

She eyed him suspiciously. "When you came into this room, you said, 'you will not.'"

Ah. So she'd heard that. Right. He cleared his throat. "Did I?" Deny everything. That was his motto. "I don't think I did."

"Yep. You definitely did. Now why would you say something like that?" she said slowly, piecing it all together. "You sounded angry, too. And all I said was that we ought to finish Jack's spontaneous fashion show tomorrow, because I was worn out."

"I don't know, Rose. I think perhaps you're hearing things."

She smirked at him, then – in a _knowing_ sort of way - and he suddenly didn't feel very clever. In fact, he felt a little bit like he was going to melt into a puddle of Time Lord goo. He wasn't even sure why; it was either embarrassment over the fact that she had evidently worked out his thought process of earlier, or…

Or.

He coughed awkwardly. "I'm going to go now," he murmured, but he didn't move an inch.

"Are you?"

"Yeah." Damn, was his voice shaking? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Okay," she said.

He still didn't move. He watched the amusement and curiosity play across her face.

She arched an eyebrow. "Doctor?"

"Mmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm…" he started, then abruptly trailed off. His eyes dropped to the floor and he inhaled deeply. "Rose."

"Yeah?"

He looked at her again, intending to meet her eyes but taking the leisurely route up to her face. He swallowed thickly. "You're so young," he blurted out.

Rose was nonplussed. "What?"

"I just mean…" he floundered for a moment. Why had he gone and said that? "It's just – Jack. He isn't – you ought not to, um – what I'm trying to say, Rose, is that I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to let yourself fall for someone like Jack."

"Wasn't intending to," she snorted. "I like him, and obviously he's dead attractive and all that -"

"Obviously," the Doctor muttered to himself in annoyance. He still wasn't over the 'why is it that all the good-looking ones do that?' remark she'd made in that hospital room a little while ago.

"- and he's really funny, I mean, I was laughing so much earlier, he's a really funny guy - "

"Hmph." _He _was supposed to be the one who put a smile on Rose Tyler's face. Not Jack. Jack had looks and charm and suavity; why couldn't he let the Doctor get to be the one who made her laugh?

"- but I'm not stupid. Even if I suspect the bad boy thing is an act, I know he's a massive flirt and chases after anything that moves," Rose finished. She shrugged again. "I'm young, yeah, but I'm not daft. Besides…"

The Doctor perked up a little. "Besides?"

"I've made the mistake of falling for the wrong sort of guy before," she said, glancing away for a moment.

"Have you?" he murmured hoarsely. And though he knew it was absurd, knew it was ridiculous and stupid and reckless, knew that it shouldn't even be on his wish list, he wondered if she meant _him._

She soon doused that thought, though. "Yeah. Left school at sixteen for some idiot in a crappy band," she muttered, and rolled her eyes. "Really embarrassing, how that ended."

He swallowed hard. "Oh?"

She looked at him again and replied, "Yeah. He ran off with some of my money and some other girl. Think they ended up in Denmark or Belgium or somewhere. Oh well. He was a git. Dunno what I saw in him. I s'pose I was just bored, and then he seemed the antidote to that, all rock star and exciting." She sighed. "Silly, really."

The Doctor reached for her hand before he even registered he was doing it, and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I'm much savvier, now. In fact, I think I'm more mature than you give me credit for sometimes, Doctor," Rose murmured, squeezing his hand in return.

"Yeah," he exhaled roughly. "Maybe you are." He cleared his throat. "Still. Like I was saying. Best not get involved with Jack. Even if it's just a, you know, bit of fun sort of thing."

Rose grinned. "You really are adorable," she said.

"I'm sorry?" he retorted, utterly baffled by that conclusion.

"You can't fool me. Jealous, that's what you are. I can read the signs, you know," she teased playfully, poking him in the chest with her free hand.

"I'm not jealous," he insisted with a huff.

"Probably not in the normal way, no, but you definitely don't want me to like Jack best out of you two," she said.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean, 'not in the normal way?'"

She met his fiery gaze defiantly. "Well, you're not exactly…" Her half-sentence seemed to make him even more annoyed, so she trailed off warily.

"I've had just about enough of you assuming that I'm not – that I don't – that I'm not - "

"That you're not _what?" _she demanded, dimly aware that they were still holding hands and yet suddenly glaring at each other.

He reigned in his temper and began, quietly, "Just because I'm old and not human, doesn't mean that I don't want to – to -" He was tilting his head forwards without realising it. Rose's eyes widened again and he snapped his head back, interpreting her reaction as negative to anything he may or may not have been about to subconsciously do. "I'm sorry," he murmured hurriedly. "I didn't – I wasn't going to kiss you, I – I'm sorry." He released her hand and stepped backwards.

"I didn't think you did that sort of thing," she remarked.

"I don't," he said slowly. "I've not exactly lived nine centuries as a monk, but you're right: generally, I don't, er. Do the kissing thing. As a rule."

The corner of her mouth twitched in a half-smile. "Could I be an exception to that rule?"

He felt his hearts double their speed. "What?" he whispered.

She laughed, a little, to cover her tracks, he suspected. "I mean, if you…if you wanted. I wouldn't be opposed to you…testing it out. I mean if it's been a long time and you just wanted to…check. That you still… But if you don't then I'm totally fine with it because obviously you're my best mate and I really want us to be best mates for – well, forever – but I just mean that if you did want to maybe be something else as well as best mates then that would be completely fine with me too. Hypothetically." She gulped.

He stared at her blushing cheeks in astonishment. Was she seriously saying…?

"Rose."

"Yeah?"

"It probably wouldn't be a good idea," he murmured.

"Right." She nodded vigorously, as if convincing him that she agreed. "Right, well, no, I guess it wouldn't be."

His pulse rate was hammering full speed ahead. "I mean there are lots of reasons that we really shouldn't," he added.

"Yeah. I s'pose there is."

"Your mother, for starters," he muttered, arching an eyebrow. "She definitely wouldn't like it."

"I wasn't exactly thinking of announcing it to her," Rose muttered back.

"No, well, aside from that there are the obvious issues."

"Sure. Yeah."

"I mean I'm nine hundred years old."

"Mmm."

"You're not even twenty yet."

"Yeah."

"And I'm not human, so…it's not like, er. It's not like it would be a long-standing thing. And really, I don't think I could kiss you, Rose, and then lose you, I - " He broke off, aware that he'd perhaps said too much. "I just…" He glanced helplessly around the room.

"It's okay," she said understandingly. "I get it."

They were silent for a few moments.

Then Rose asked, "Why were you so keen just now to tell me that you were just as capable as Jack of wanting to kiss me, only to snatch that implication back a few seconds later?"

He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

"Was it just a male pride thing?"

He shrugged, not knowing the answer himself.

"Or are you just, like, you can't have me but neither can anyone else? Is that it?"

"No, I – I - " He faltered. "I don't know."

"When Mickey and Mum ask me – repeatedly - if you're my boyfriend, I tell them that you're better than that."

"I'm sorry if I've disappointed you," he responded curtly.

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. You're better than a boyfriend because you are the only person in my whole life who actually - " she cut herself off, then, glancing at the floor. Blinking quickly, she continued, "I told you what a git Jimmy turned out to be. And Mickey was fine, right, 'cos I'd known him since I was a kid and he was fun and he loved me and he's a good person, a decent bloke. And Jack makes me laugh and flirts with me and kind of makes me feel beautiful, in a way, which is a new feeling for me, to be honest, but in another way he's like the older brother I never had, right? And Mum, obviously, she's there for me like no one else, she's brought me up all on her own and taken care of me through all the shitty stuff that happens in life..."

He stepped forwards, closing the distance between them again, but remained silent, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"But Jimmy was no good. And Mickey didn't _do _anything, except watch T.V and play video games. And Jack makes _everyone _feel beautiful. And Mum has never encouraged me to be more than what I am." She looked up at him and locked her gaze with his. "But you…"

"Yeah?" he prompted, entranced by her speech and wondering where she could possibly being going with it.

She swallowed against a lump in her throat and continued, "You're the only person who's ever shown me what I can really be." She paused, and pressed her lips together tightly for a moment, watching him watch her. Then she finished, "The only person who's ever _believed _in me. And that's the best thing I could ask for in a friend. I don't think you realise just how happy you've made me."

He stared at her, amazed by what he was hearing. "Rose," he whispered reverently.

"If you think that it'd ruin all that if we kissed, then fine," she said next. "But if you change your mind, then, well, at least you know now that I think it'd be - "

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off, then, as the Doctor leant down and pressed his mouth to hers, stealing her words. Surprised but completely thrilled, Rose framed his head with her hands to encourage him to stay right there, and opened her mouth beneath his.

Emboldened by her obvious reciprocation, the Doctor deepened the kiss, and moved his hands to her waist. He couldn't quite believe he was really doing this. He couldn't believe how good it felt. And he definitely couldn't believe how, well, for lack of a better phrase, how _into it _Rose seemed.

Slowly, reluctantly, he broke the kiss; he leant his forehead against hers and they breathed in deeply. Her fingers slipped to his jumper and gripped the fabric tightly. "Rose Tyler," he whispered, his hot breath hovering over her lips. "How you've saved me."


	2. Chapter 2

"So have you two hooked up yet?" Jack asked, flopping down onto the sofa next to Rose.

Rose glanced at him for a second before going back to her magazine. "Don't be daft."

"I saw you two snogging in the kitchen this morning," he pointed out wisely.

She went a bit pink but didn't turn to face him. "Well that's all we're doing right now."

"Taking things slow?"

"Something like that."

"Oh. That sucks."

She heaved a sigh, flung the magazine on the coffee table in front of her, and turned to face Jack properly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he smiled encouragingly.

"You have to promise you'll never tell the Doctor this."

"I swear," he vowed.

"Okay. Well. I was just wondering…do you reckon he'll _ever _want to, you know, take things to another level?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I reckon it's all he's thinking about these days."

"Really?" Rose asked, looking doubtful.

"Really," he assured her. He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You're gorgeous. He loves you. He's just nervous, that's all. He's probably worried he'll be rubbish."

She bit her lip. "Jack…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think he, you know."

"What?"

"Loves me."

"Er, yes," he replied, in a tone that implied it was very, very obvious. "Duh!"

She started to smile. "And you think I've just got to wait it out?"

"You could always try to seduce him," he shrugged.

Rose's eyes widened. "Oh, no. I couldn't do that. I don't – no. I'd be too embarrassed. Besides, what if he rejected me? It would make things really awkward."

"Then you're gonna have to be patient, 'cos I doubt the Doctor will use his initiative any time soon."

She sighed. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"How long have you two been doing the just snogging thing, anyway?"

Rose wrinkled her nose up. "Three weeks."

His eyebrows shot up his head. "What, seriously?"

"Yeah. Started that night when he stormed into my room whilst we were dressing up in all that weird clothing."

"Ohh," he realised. "I thought he sounded jealous. In fact I thought he thought we were up to no good."

"Yeah, I think he did," Rose giggled. "God, Jack. What am I gonna do with him?"

"What are you going to do with whom?" asked the Doctor, as he stepped into the library.

Rose froze. Jack smothered a laugh. Slowly, she turned to face the Time Lord. "Um…"

The Doctor shrugged and made his way over, sitting down on the other side of Rose. He noticed that Jack was sitting rather close, so he made sure to wrap his arm around her shoulders to settle her against him. Rose smiled into his chest as she brought her arm around his waist in a loose hug.

"You two are so sweet," Jack murmured with a wistful smile.

Rose rather thought things ought to have moved on a bit from 'sweet,' but she didn't quite have the courage to say that out loud.

* * *

Two days later, Rose was _very _frustrated. "Jack," she grumbled, as she found him down by the swimming pool. "He's not picking up on any of my signals."

Jack sat up on the lounger and gestured for her to join him. She plonked herself down on the one next to his, and looked at him in despair. "I know I shouldn't say this because it's pretty embarrassing but I s'pose you're a fifty-first century guy so it'll be water off a duck's back…"

"I'm listening," he said curiously.

"Right, well, you see I was thinking…do you think it's even possible? Like, does he have all the right parts, or what?"

"Thought he told you that he _danced?"_

"Yeah, but what if it's different? What if he can't with humans?"

"Few species out there that can't dance with humans," Jack snorted.

"I know, so you keep saying," mumbled Rose. "I just…I've been as obvious as I can be without getting embarrassed about it. Will I seriously have to resort to parading naked around the console room?"

Jack's eyes lit up.

"Not that I'd ever actually do that," she said hastily, putting a stop to that idea before it could germinate in Jack's mind.

"Get into a bikini, get in the pool, and I'll tell the Doctor to come down here," Jack suggested.

"He's seen me in my bikini before, Jack; that didn't encourage him. He also saw me half-dressed yesterday when he came by my room for a kiss goodnight. I was standing there in my _underwear, _Jack, and he barely even touched me. A quick snog, his hands on my back briefly, and then he was gone."

"You need to tell him straight, then. Tell him you're a twenty-first century young human woman who has needs, needs that he currently isn't satisfying."

"I can't do that," Rose blushed.

"Sure you can. Just go up to him and say, 'Doctor, if you don't take me right now, I'm gonna go and find Jack, 'cos I'm in need of something to resolve this sexual frustration of mine.' That'll spring him into action."

Rose stared at him in astonishment. "If you really think I'd ever have the courage to be that forward - "

Jack arched an eyebrow. "You telling me that you've never said something naughty to Mickey or another boyfriend before now?"

"Well, maybe a little bit, but not like that and besides, this is the _Doctor."_

"Are you still frightened he'll reject you?"

"Yes," she sighed miserably, flopping back onto the lounger. "I just wish I could see what's going on inside that big Time Lord brain of his, just for one moment."

"Don't worry, honey," said Jack comfortingly, patting her knee. "It'll all work out in the end."

* * *

Another day passed. Rose still wasn't getting anywhere with the approaching-the-Doctor-about-sex thing. They'd spent the afternoon in a forty-second century human colony marketplace, where Rose felt like she was surrounded by happy, PDA-loving couples. Then they'd accidentally walked past a row of sex shops on the way back to the TARDIS; she hadn't had the courage to make a suggestive remark, and the Doctor hadn't even noticed. It was like the universe was conspiring against her.

But that evening, something changed.

It started when Jack and Rose were on their own in the kitchen, and Jack had tried, once again, to reassure Rose that she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"He's just nervous, how many more times do I have to say this?" he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a loose hug as she made a cup of tea.

"I dunno, Jack. It's starting to get to me a bit, actually." She bit her lip, then shrugged out of his hold so that she could stare him in the eye. "Do you think he's even attracted to me?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Rose. You can't seriously think that he isn't."

She sipped at her tea for a few moments, looking at the floor.

A thought occurred to Jack. "When you and him are kissing, do you…you know. Feel anything? I don't mean you, I mean…" He waggled his eyebrows. "Do you feel a reaction from _him?"_

Rose blushed. "Are you asking me if he gets - " She stopped, and widened her eyes meaningfully.

"Yes."

"Um. Well, I…I think so. I mean, I think I've felt that, a couple of times. But for god's sake, it could just be wishful thinking. Could be his sonic bloody screwdriver for all I know. Anyway, he always pulls away before I can keep him pressed against me long enough to know for sure."

Jack stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What you need is some extended alone time. Cuddling on the sofa."

Rose arched an eyebrow. "As if that would -"

"I'll leave you two alone tonight. Watch a film together. Get him to snuggle."

"Snuggle?" Rose snorted. "I've got a better chance of getting him to sing karaoke in my local pub than that."

"You'd be surprised what he'd do if you asked," Jack remarked, and with that little pearl of wisdom, he left the kitchen, leaving her to think on his words.

* * *

Jack went straight to the console room after leaving Rose, and struck up an easy conversation with the Doctor, who was lying beneath the console fixing something or other, for about five minutes. Then, just as he'd lulled the Time Lord into a false sense of security, Jack blurted casually, "So, how's things in the bedroom, then?"

There was a donk and a clank and a low curse as the Doctor obviously dropped something and injured himself in the process. "Excuse me?" came a gruff, unimpressed Northern voice.

"You and Rose. How're things getting on?"

"That's none of your business."

"Isn't it? Oh. Sorry about that. I was just wondering, that's all."

"Well, don't," huffed the Doctor.

"So is she teaching an old dog new tricks, or are you more experienced with all this than you let on?" Jack persisted.

"Oi, I thought I just told you to shut up."

"I didn't hear you say any such thing," Jack replied primly. He heard the Doctor growl in annoyance and grinned. "Come on, Doc. You can tell me. Are things _satisfactory?"_

The Doctor climbed out from beneath the console and levelled a glare at his friend. "I repeat: _that is none of your business."_

"It's just that I was thinking earlier…you're not exactly showing the signs."

"What signs?"

"Signs to suggest that you got lucky last night."

"What?"

"You've been in a miserable mood all day. If you and Rose had hooked up successfully last night, or any other night this month for that matter, you would've been on cloud nine. Consistently."

The Doctor harrumphed, and busied himself with looking at the console screen, not paying attention to Jack. Or at least, trying not to.

"The thing is, it strikes me that, seeing as you've finally got the girl, after months of loving her from a distance, well, you should make the most of it."

The Doctor ignored him. But his hearts were thudding inside his chest.

"Because you do, don't you?" Jack persisted.

"Do what?" the Time Lord snapped, then cursed himself for rising to the bait.

"Love her."

The Doctor turned and, with a heavy sigh, plonked himself down on the jumpseat, looking defeated.

Jack grinned at the tortured expression on his friend's face. "I'll take that as a yes."

"It's not as simple as that, Jack," the Doctor said carefully.

"Bullshit," retorted Jack, in such a blunt fashion that the Doctor twisted to look at him in alarm. "Couldn't be simpler, from where I'm standing. You love her, she loves you. Just have sex already and put us all out of our misery."

"What have _you _got to be miserable about?" huffed the Doctor.

"Oh, please. You think that being around you two when there's so much unresolved tension in the air is the easiest thing in the world?" The Doctor blinked at him in surprise, so Jack continued, "Half the time I seriously consider just seducing one or both of you myself, just to clear the atmosphere - "

"You will _not," _the Doctor interrupted, in a deep, growling sort of voice.

Jack smiled slyly. "Seduce you or seduce her?"

"Either."

"If you say so."

"I do say so." He sighed. "I just need her to be sure, that's all."

"That's all that's holding you back? You're worried she'll change her mind?"

The Doctor stared hard at the grating and grumbled, "Well it's not like I'm a great catch, is it?"

Jack couldn't help but laugh, much to the Doctor's dismay. Then, he patted him on the back comfortingly and informed him, "You start giving her more than a few snogs, and she'll love you forever."

He left to let the Doctor think on that for the rest of the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

She couldn't believe that the Doctor was actually up for the idea of sitting still for a few hours and watching a film together. Alone.

Oh, they'd watched telly together before, of course. Before Jack came along, they'd settled into a comfy routine about it, even. He would sit in the armchair, and she'd lie across the sofa, and they'd watch films and throw popcorn at each other. A lot of the time, he'd get restless after an hour or so and fetch something mechanical to fiddle with, like fixing a portable TARDIS part. But that was okay, she didn't mind – at least she still had his company.

But actually getting him to sit still next to her, his arm around her as she cuddled into his side, watching _Love Actually,_ of all films…well, she seriously could not believe it. She wasn't paying much attention to the film, if she was being honest. She liked it well enough, but it wasn't like she was a massive fan of rom-coms herself. But Jack had suggested that she choose something like that, to see if it would give the Doctor a bit of a hint that she needed a little more romance in their relationship. And to her shock, the Doctor had grunted his annoyance at her film choice just once, and then settled down to indulge her anyway.

It was remarkable. And throughout the film, she kept stealing little glances up at him, and he didn't even looked bored. In fact, he looked astoundingly engaged with the love stories playing out on the screen.

So she relaxed, and started enjoying it herself.

And then, just at the poignant moment when one of the characters was confessing his unrequited love to his best friend's new wife via massive, written-on pieces of card, something odd happened.

The Doctor shifted, casually manoeuvring him and Rose into a position where instead of sitting upright with her leaning against his side, they were almost horizontal, spreading out along the sofa in much the same way as Rose used to lie on it by herself, their heads turning to face the telly. Too surprised and delighted to protest, she let him guide her into their new position, and pillowed her head on his chest. His arm was still around her shoulders, but he slipped his hand into her hair, stroking softly.

The Doctor chuckled at the appropriate moment when the man in the scene held up a picture of a decrepit old woman and proclaimed to Keira Knightley that he'd probably love her even when she looked like that. Rose sighed sadly when Keira chased him into the street to give him one kiss. And they continued watching the film in much the same position.

Until the end, that was. When all the characters' stories tied up at the arrivals lounge of the airport, and much hugging and kissing and a nice bit of Hugh Grant narration commenced, Rose lifted her head, wondering if the Doctor was still paying attention or if he'd dozed off. To her continuous surprise, his eyes looked suspiciously moist. She giggled, and he looked at her suddenly, realising she was watching him.

"What?" he murmured defensively.

"You've got a softer side," she hummed happily. "It's quite sweet."

"It's quite moving," he huffed, nodding his head towards the screen. "Nothing like reuniting with a loved one." They stared at each other for a few moments, and the Doctor stroked her hair back behind her ear. And then he whispered, "We have to do that an absurd amount of times."

"What's that?" she asked, a bit breathless under the force of his intense gaze.

"Reunite."

"Oh."

"It's not right, that," he murmured next, his thumb sweeping over her cheek gently. "Us, being separated so much."

"Sometimes it has to happen like that for us to save the day," she pointed out.

"But what if one day I don't get you back?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together in a deep frown. "What if one day, I lose you, and I can't reach you?"

"Then I'll just have to get back myself, won't I?" she retorted easily. "Not like I don't save myself and you occasionally anyway. You're not _always _the one who figures it out, you know."

She grinned cheekily, and something in her voice conveyed how happy she was to have figured out what she could do. She'd told him as much, weeks ago. How he made her believe in herself. How he made her happy. It was a humbling, wonderful, dreadful thing to be responsible for. Because how could he keep her happy forever? He was him, and he was someone who destroyed everything he touched, in the end. He didn't want to destroy Rose.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he murmured hoarsely. "Ever."

"We're a team," she replied. "Me, you and Jack. We look after each other, that's what we do. Stop worrying."

"I'll never stop worrying," he snorted. His hands moved to her waist, and he pulled her further up the sofa so that they were eye level, so that she was hovering over him. He tilted his head up, touching his lips to hers. Then, he trailed a hand down to her bum, and used it to encourage her to stop hovering and settle atop him. She sunk into his embrace instantly, and the heat from her body pressing against his warmed him considerably. She made a small sound of delight against his mouth when he gave her bum a squeeze, and he chuckled, deciding that he'd keep it there for the foreseeable future seeing as she apparently liked it so much.

After a couple of minutes of kissing, though, Rose suddenly pulled away and looked him right in the eye as she said, frankly, "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?" he mumbled distractedly, relishing the feel of her hair hanging down and brushing against his face and neck.

"You."

"What's there not to get?" he laughed.

"Everything. Your feelings. Your actions. Your words."

He frowned, then, aware that she was serious. "How do you mean?"

She sighed and tried to clarify, "You do this, yeah?" And she proceeded to snog him rather senseless for about seventeen seconds, then pulled back again to continue, "And you do this." She lifted her hand to his cheek, trailing her fingertips over his face tenderly. "And you do this," she remarked next, with an arched eyebrow and a clever positioning of her hand between his back and the sofa to subtly pinch his bum. "But that's it. Why?"

He cleared his throat. "That's a very interesting and forthright question."

"Yeah, well, Jack told me I should've asked you outright ages ago, but I've not been feeling brave enough."

"And now you are?"

"Well considering I can feel for sure, now, just how into this snogging thing you are," she began, and glanced pointedly down to let him know that she felt _exactly _what was pressing into her stomach. "Then yeah, I'm feeling a bit more courageous, not to mention curious."

"So let me get this straight," he said quietly. "You've been discussing with Jack about why we haven't allowed things to…progress?"

"About how _you _haven't allowed things to progress, yeah," she corrected wryly.

"Oh. I see." He stared at her in silence, thinking about the conversation he'd had with Jack earlier on.

"Well?"

"Oh, right," he realised. "You want me to tell you?"

"Obviously," she muttered in frustration. She shifted her hips against his purposely, and his eyes widened. "Gonna stay here until you do."

His lips twitched at the sudden determination in both her voice and gaze. Blimey, he loved her. "Right. In that case, maybe I won't tell you straight away," he pondered teasingly.

"Doctor," she said impatiently.

With a sudden movement that she really didn't see coming, he flipped them over, so that he was the one above her. Her gasp of shock did nothing to disguise the fact that her eyes darkened considerably with the manoeuvre.

"It's not that I don't want to," he told her carefully, his voice slightly scratchy.

She could tell he was nervous, so she looped her arms around his neck and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "But?" she prompted softly.

"I just wanted you to be sure that _you _did," he explained.

She grinned. "I'm really, really sure."

He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "I thought you might say that. But the thing is - "

"Yeah?"

"The thing is, I'm…very old." He opened his eyes and looked deeply into hers. "And you being young and lovely and human, you probably have…expectations."

"I don't need romance and flowers, Doctor," she assured him, misunderstanding his meaning.

"No, I mean…I mean when it comes to, er. The, you know." His cheeks went a bit pink, and he shifted against her in the hope of conveying his meaning.

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Are you seriously worried that you might not be any good?"

He sighed, dropping his head to the spot between her neck and shoulder in acute embarrassment. "I've not done this for a while," he mumbled into her neck.

"Good, then I'll have nothing to live up to," Rose retorted.

He lifted his head to look at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Now it was Rose's turn to sigh. "Doctor, who knows the amount of people in history, the whole of time and space, that you could've…"

"I assure you, there haven't been many," he mumbled.

"No, but I mean – I'm just, you know. Ordinary. You could've been with some famous actress or bloody Helen of Troy or something for all I know, and that makes me glad that you haven't done this for a long time, because I wouldn't want you to compare and contrast - "

"Hold on," he interrupted firmly. "Why are you under the impression that you are deficient in some way compared to other people in the universe?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "Let's be honest, it's not like I'm anything special."

"I thought you said that I made you realise that you were?" he murmured, recollecting her speech of weeks ago.

"I didn't mean in this way," she mumbled uncertainly. "And seeing as you didn't appear very interested in anything other than kissing for nearly a month, I thought maybe you didn't really want – well, me."

He blinked. Once, twice. And then he growled defiantly and kissed her, in a rather hard and urgent manner. His hands travelled down to her thighs, and he gripped them firmly, tugging her legs up around his waist.

"You've no idea," he murmured, as he pulled his lips from hers to kiss his way down her neck. "No idea what you do to me."

She giggled breathily. "And what's that?

"Oh blimey," he replied, not knowing where to start. "You're just…" He trailed off, nipping at her collar bone. Rose clutched at his shoulders, his jumper creasing beneath her grip. He moved back to her lips, and kissed her gently, reverently. "You're perfect. Better than perfect."

"Doctor," she murmured teasingly. "That doesn't make sense."

"Hmm?" he replied, distracted, as he took her earlobe between his teeth.

"You can't have something that's better than perfect. That's not proper English," she informed him wisely, giggling when he lifted his head to regard her with a heated look. "Doesn't make sense," she repeated softly.

"You're right," he allowed, dropping a kiss to her nose. "Perfection is an absolute. You're just making me lose all rational thought, you are."

"Glad to be of service," she remarked, the last syllable coming out as more of a hiss when he shifted against her.

"Got to love friction," he said, giving her one of his delighted grins.

Her heart fluttered, and she moved her hands from his shoulders to his belt. "Can I…?"

"Not yet," he answered, and she looked disappointed so he leant down for a searing kiss to cheer her up, after which he murmured roughly, "Want to get you undressed first."

"Oh," she whispered. "Okay then."


End file.
